Matthias may have been the best player on the Leafs last night, he has to finish though. Robbed by Darling on one chance.
Leivo was with the Leafs last year & wasn't very impressive & was basically average with the Marlies. He has picked up his game this year with the Marlies & has played with a lot of confidence & as I said yesterday has consistently been in the top 2 with the Marlies.
Before people start anointing him as a Leaf saviour & put down the current "NHL" players. You should realize both Matthias & Grabner would destroy the AHL & Babcock will give their 400 ish games NHL experience its due.
Leivo earned his opportunity, now he'll need to earn his spot or he'll be sent back down as quick as Babcock can say Arcobello.
This is essentially the thought process in why the Leafs have been by far the worst team in all of sports for player development because there's no commitment to youth at the NHL level valuing mediocre vets on the down swing in the name of experience over a young guy with potential to be just as good if not better if they would just commit, go through the pain to get the gain.
The thought process you have and many others do as well leaves it to chance that a young player would step in find instant chemistry with new line mates, playing in a new league where the game is crisper faster than they ever played in. Your setting them up to fail like this asking for the impossible to beat out somebody who's already comfortable in there surrounding playing in the NHL. The body of work you take in for a youngster to make a believer in them isn't this first crack of NHL games. It's what they've done in the AHL you take note of and if you feel it projects in the NHL playing for your team. If they make a believer in you call them up & COMMIT. It takes 20 games for most just to find a comfort with line mates to form chemistry and it takes over 80 games of NHL experience to find a comfort level of playing in this league figuring out what it is you as a player in your game to be successful.
Take Leon Draisaitl as an example... The talk is that last year he was rushed wasn't ready blah , blah blah. Those games he got in the NHL last season is why he's been awesome this year. The experience he gained playing in the NHL with teammates & NHL competition gave him first hand experience in what it takes for his game to thrive in the NHL... He took that learned from it and came back ready something he would have never got without those NHL games. This is what we call go through pain to get the gain & the Leafs still are not willing to go through that until they do you can kiss this rebuild dead as we speak.
Leivo just like it was in camp even with jitters, apprehension & a lack of experience to feel just a bit comfortable is proving just how much of a waste of time Matthias & Grabner and I would add Boyes to this really are. They're not better players at all just experience that having them robs Leivo of.
